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Jenny Sabin (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> is an architectural designer, a professor, a studio principal and MSR\u2019s current Artist in Residence. Asta Roseway<\/a> is a principal research designer, a \u201cfusionist\u201d and the co-founder of the Artist in Residence program<\/a> at Microsoft Research. The two, along with a stellar multi-disciplinary team, recently completed the installation of Ada<\/a>, the first interactive architectural pavilion powered by AI, in the heart of the Microsoft Research building in Redmond.<\/p>\n On today\u2019s podcast, Jenny and Asta talk about life at the intersection of art and science; tell us why the Artist in Residence program pushes the boundaries of technology in unexpected ways; and reveal their vision of the future of bio-inspired, human-centered, AI-infused architecture.<\/p>\n Host: <\/span><\/b>We\u2019re back with another two-guest episode of the Microsoft Research Podcast, this time featuring the co-founder of the Artist in Residence program along with MSR\u2019s latest Artist in Residence. Together, they discuss their current collaboration, Ada, and inspire us to think big about the future of human-driven, AI-fueled, cyber-physical architecture.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: <\/span><\/b>You\u2019re listening to the Microsoft Research Podcast, a show that brings you closer to the cutting-edge of technology research and the scientists behind it. I\u2019m your host, Gretchen Huizinga.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: <\/span><\/b>Jenny Sabin is an architectural designer, <\/span><\/b>a professor, a studio principal<\/span><\/b>,<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>and MSR\u2019s current Artist in Residence. <\/span><\/b>Asta<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>Roseway<\/span><\/b> is a principal research designer, <\/span><\/b>a \u201cfusionist\u201d <\/span><\/b>and the co-founder of the Artist in Residence program at Microsoft Research. The two, along with a stellar multi-disciplinary team, recently completed the installation of Ada, <\/span><\/b>the first interactive architectural pavilion powered by AI, in the heart of the Microsoft Research building in Redmond.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n On today\u2019s podcast, Jenny and <\/span><\/b>Asta<\/span><\/b> talk about life at the intersection of art and science; tell us why the Artist in Residence program pushes the boundaries of technology in unexpected ways; and reveal their vision of the future of bio-inspired, human-centered, AI-infused architecture.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>That and much more on this episode of the Microsoft Research Podcast.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n (music plays)<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: <\/span><\/b>I am thrilled to welcome two guests to the podcast booth today to celebrate the launch of Ada, an AI<\/span><\/b>–<\/span><\/b>powered architectural pavilion in the lobby of Microsoft\u2019s Building 99.<\/span><\/b> With me today <\/span><\/b>are <\/span><\/b>Jenny Sabi<\/span><\/b>n a<\/span><\/b>nd <\/span><\/b>Asta<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>Roseway<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>Welcome, Jenny and <\/span><\/b>Asta<\/span><\/b>, <\/span><\/b>Asta<\/span><\/b> and Jenny, to the podcas<\/span><\/b>t<\/span><\/b>!<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Jenny Sabin: Thank you.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Asta<\/span> <\/span>Roseway<\/span>: Thank you.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Jenny Sabin: Thrilled to be here.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: So let\u2019s kick it off with you, Jenny. I\u2019ve already given kind of a list of what you do<\/span><\/b>, <\/span><\/b>but that really doesn\u2019t unpack it. <\/span><\/b>I\u2019d like to hear more from you\u2026 What gets you up in the morning when you\u2019re not creating art here in Building 99?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Jenny Sabin: What gets me up in the morning<\/span>,<\/span> really<\/span>,<\/span> is the anticipation of the day. I engage in three integrated roles, sometimes more than that. First and foremost as an educator. As you <\/span>mentioned, I am a professor of architecture at Cornell University where I teach design studios and seminars in our professional degree programs as well as our advanced degree programs with a focus on emerging technologies and design, and issues <\/span>of<\/span> making and digital fabrication and, more specifically, looking at how collaboration across disciplines impacts the way that we think in the architectural design process. Related to that, I run a lab, Sabin Lab, within the College of Art<\/span>,<\/span> Architecture and Planning<\/span>,<\/span> where I collaborate with a number of scientists, material scientists, biologists, engineers\u2026 where we<\/span>,<\/span> together<\/span>,<\/span> innovate new materials and think about how buildings<\/span>,<\/span> perhaps<\/span>,<\/span> could behave more like organisms, responding to their environments and to people, most importantly. And we also think about innovating new digital fabrication protocols across multiple<\/span>–<\/span>length scales. And I engage a number of students and senior researchers in my lab. Thirdly, I am principal of Jenny Sabin Studio, which, conceptually, is very linked to the topics and ideas that we\u2019re pushing forward in the research in my lab. But it\u2019s the entity where I\u2019m able to take on applied projects to really push scale, to take on commissions and to engage in incredible opportunities like this, participating in the Artist in Residence Program at Microsoft Research. And it has a different rhythm in terms of what we\u2019re doing in comparison to the lab.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: Yeah.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Jenny Sabin: But that\u2019s what keeps me going, keeps me busy and also gets me up in the morning.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: <\/span><\/b>Asta<\/span><\/b>\u2026 first of all, you\u2019re a podcast alum, welcome back!<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Asta<\/span> <\/span>Roseway<\/span>: Hi, again.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: And a fusionist here at Microsoft Research. And for our listeners who don\u2019t know what that means, they can go back to Episode 44 of the Microsoft Research Podcast and hear <\/span><\/b>Asta<\/span><\/b> talk at length about that. But you helped establish the Artist in Residence Program here at Microsoft Research. <\/span><\/b>So, t<\/span><\/b>ell us what it is, why it exists and how you go about selecting artists, like Jenny, to collaborate with<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Asta<\/span> <\/span>Roseway<\/span>: So<\/span>,<\/span> the Artist in Residence Program is essentially a platform that enables researchers here at Microsoft Research to collaborate, to brainstorm, to push their technologies forward with the help and aide of a creative, an artist. It sort of helps diversify and push the boundaries of the technologies they work on in unexpected ways.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: Yeah.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Asta<\/span> <\/span>Roseway<\/span>: And that\u2019s really important, because art is that bridge into our humanity, right? So if we\u2019re building these technologies that have real world impact, it\u2019s essential to have the right kind of brains in the room and for artists to be able to use art as a vehicle to envision possible futures.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Host: You both situate your work at the intersection of art, science and technology and you both often connect a few other streets and avenues to that intersection like biology and architecture<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/b>and math<\/span><\/b>\u2026 Talk about why you both like this intersection and what interesting things happen here that might not happen elsewhere? Jenny, why don\u2019t you give us a start?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n Jenny Sabin: Well, I think for me it\u2019s several different aspects. One is I\u2019ve always been interested in both math and science, and the arts. And for many years I struggled to find the right glove, so to speak, in terms of bringing what are often seen as disparate fields together. And that\u2019s what led me to architecture. So I\u2019ve always been good at math and enjoyed biology and the sciences, but also, fundamentally, am a maker, you know<\/span>,<\/span> I\u2019m interested in how these ideas and technologies are made manifest in the world. Alongside that, in architecture, you know<\/span>,<\/span> I was fortunate<\/span>,<\/span> early on in my graduate career<\/span>,<\/span> when I was studying at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing my <\/span>M.Arch<\/span>., to experience the shift from analog production of drawings in the architectural design process to the digital. So, I spent the first half of my education producing drawings with a <\/span>Mayline<\/span>, you know, ink on mylar, which for me was a really great transition and kind of segue from my background in the fine arts to architecture. And then the second half, I was writing scripts and learning all of these new processes and studying under really important people, an important mentor of mine, Cecil <\/span>Balmond<\/span>, who I <\/span>eventually<\/span> taught with. And at the time, we were struggling with how to make sense of these tools and how it was impacting the design process. And so terms like complexity and emergence and dynamical were borrowed by architects to try and make sense of what we were seeing in terms of form. And I became a little bit self-critical in wondering well, maybe we could actually learn some things from our colleagues in the sciences about these terms. And that was a kind of point of departure for some of the very early collaborations and in forming bridges with scientists.<\/span>Related:<\/h3>\n
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